Rain was pelting the hood of my windbreaker as I walked down the empty sidewalks of Canterlot. I began thinking to myself why today of all days was a good idea to take a walk.
Man, what a crappy day. I thought. I wish Mother Nature would've waited until I was in my house before doing this.
As I kept on walking I was pondering what I was going to do once I got back to my house.
Should I order a pizza tonight? Or should I make spaghetti? I thought to myself. Am I going to play some video games? Or should I watch a movie? Eh, I'll figure something out.
As I turned a corner of the sidewalk, the domed roof of Canterlot High came into view. It was always the first thing you saw before you saw the building's deep purple exterior. I smiled. Not just because it was summer vacation, but because my fondest memories of classes at that school came flooding back. As the large pedestal in the courtyard came into view, I looked over towards it and immediately stopped walking. Wallflower Blush was sitting beside the pedestal with her head buried in her legs.
"What is she doing there?" I said quietly to myself. "And why doesn't she have a jacket on? She's going to catch a cold!"
Without hesitation, I made my way over to her.
"Uh, Wallflower?" I said. Slowly, she lifted her head out of her knees and looked around. Finally, her eyes landed on me.
"Oh! Hey, PanHead! What are you doing here?"
"I should be asking you that question," I said. "And why are you out here with no jacket?"
"I... forgot to check the weather today," she said, giving me a sheepish grin as her freckled cheeks began to turn red with embarrassment. I slowly shook my head.
"Well, come on," I said, extending my hand out to her. "You need to get out of this rain."
She hesitated at first, but eventually took my hand and stood up. Then we both started running until we eventually were under a tree and out of the rain. I let out a long sigh of relief.
"Man," I said. "You're soaked."
"I know," she said, brushing hair out of her face. "I wish I had an umbrella."
"Yeah. But why didn't you run inside somewhere when it started raining? You're probably going to catch a cold now."
"I was... thinking," she said, rubbing her arm.
"About what?" I asked.
"A lot of things."
"Like what?" I asked, trying not to sound pushy. Wallflower let out a long sigh and looked away from me.
"I... I don't know if I should tell you," she said. "I don't need anyone else thinking less of me."
"What are you talking about?" I asked, a hint of worry in my voice. "Why would I think less of you?"
She didn't answer. She just slowly bent down and settled herself into the same sitting position she was in when I had found her earlier. I followed suit. As I looked closer, I could see that she was starting to shake a little. I chalked that up to both the frigid rain and the fact that she looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment.
"Wallflower," I began. "I can tell something isn't right here. What's wrong?"
She didn't respond. Moving a little closer, I reached up and placed my hand on top of hers.
"Come on, this is me you're talking to," I said, gently. "You can tell me what's wrong."
"I don't know," she said, her voice starting to tremble.
"Hey," I said, moving my hand up to her shoulder. "Look at me."
Her gaze fell upon me as I turned to face her better.
"Tell me what's going on. I have nowhere important I need to be today, so I'll stay here and listen. You know me. I won't laugh or anything like that. Please, just talk to me."
She hesitated again, but finally, she let out a long sigh.
"You know about what happened with the Memory Stone, right?"
"Yeah," I said. "Why?"
"So you know that I was the one that was behind it, then," she said.
"Yes, I do," I said.
"Then why are you still hanging around me?" she asked.
"What do you mean?" I asked nervously.
"You should be hanging out with your real friends instead of wasting your time with me," she said as a tear ran down her face.
"You're my friend, too!" I yelled. "And I'm not wasting my time at all!"
"Yes, you are!" she shot back. "Spend time with good people instead of a monster like me!"
"You're not a monster, Wallflower!"
"Yes, I am!" she yelled. "If I hadn't found that stupid stone in the first place, I never would've stolen everyone's memories! I'm a monster and everyone knows it!"
Upon saying this, she buried her face in her hands and began to cry uncontrollably. Immediately, I pulled her into a tight hug, holding her head against my chest. I had never realized that the incident with the Memory Stone was still tearing her apart so much. Without hesitation, I raised my hand and began rubbing her back slowly in an effort to calm her down.
"Shh, it's alright," I said, almost whispering. "It's okay. I'm here for you and I'm not going to leave you like this."
"I wish I hadn't found that stone," she said, continuing to cry. "I'm a horrible person."
"No," I said, firmly. "Stop it."
"But I-"
"No, I refuse to let you tear yourself down like this," I said, lifting her head out of my chest.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Look at me, Wallflower," I said, gripping her by the shoulders. "You are NOT a monster. You know that. I know that. Sunset and her friends know that, too. Yes, what happened that day shouldn't have happened. But everything worked out great. Everyone got their memories back."
"I know," she said, wiping her eyes. "I just can't shake the feeling that everyone hates me because of it."
"Girl, if that was true, I wouldn't be talking to you right now," I said.
"I guess that's fair," she said, giving a small smile.
"You're an amazing person, Wallflower. Even when we first met, I could already tell that you and I were going to be great friends, and I don't regret that one bit. You're kind, caring, extremely talented... I could go on."
"You really mean that?" she said.
"Of course," I said. "I'll admit I was angry when I found out you were the cause of everyone's memories going to scrap, but a few days after, I was talking to Sunset and she told me that you flat out apologized and admitted you had just gotten carried away. And when she told me that, I wasn't angry anymore. Besides, EVERYBODY gets carried away sometimes, right?"
"Yeah, I guess so," she said, finally allowing herself to smile completely.
"Now there's that smile I've been waiting for," I said, smiling back.
"Thank you, PanHead," she said wrapping her arms around me. "Thank you so much."
"Any time," I said, returning the hug. After a few moments, we separated and stood up.
"I still regret what I did," Wallflower said, looking out at the rain. "I was so tired of being forgotten all the time. And when I saw how much attention Sunset was getting from her friends and everybody else, I got jealous and blamed her for my problems. And not that's going to leave a scar in my mind forever."
"Then wear it," I said.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Are you familiar with the rock band Citizen Soldier?" I asked.
"I've heard you mention them a few times," she said.
"Well, their song 'Tattoos' talks about not hiding your scars, whether physical or mental. You just said the Memory Stone incident is a mental scar in your mind. So, don't hide it. Wear it like a tattoo and celebrate what's made you who you are. And the best part is that you don't have to let it define you."
Wallflower's jaw dropped open.
"Wow," she said. "I've never thought about it that way. I'll have to remember that from now on."
"Well," I said, stretching my back. "I'm just glad I was there to help you."
"Yeah," she said, smiling. "Thank you. By the way, can I ask you something?"
"Sure," I said.
"Can we get out of this rain now?" she said. "I'm cold and wet."
"Yeah," I laughed. "That would probably be best. Here."
I took off my windbreaker and draped it around her shoulders.
"Wait," she said. "Why are you giving me this?"
"I don't want you to catch a cold. You're already wet enough as it is."
"Fair enough." she said.
"Do you want to come back to my house for a while? I can throw your clothes in the dryer."
"I don't have any spare clothes, though."
"Don't worry," I said, waving my hand. "I have some old shirts and sweatpants you can borrow. I think they'll fit you."
"Well," she began. "Okay, then. And also, I'm getting kind of hungry."
"I can order us a pizza, if that's okay with you."
"I'd like that," she said, giggling. "And thank you again. I really needed this today."
"Hey," I said, looking her in the eyes. "If you ever feel like this again and need someone to talk to, I'll be there. You can also talk to Sunset and her friends, too. I know they'd be willing to listen."
"I will," she said. "Now let's get going."
"Good idea," I said as we began the walk back to my house.
Author's Note
"And now I wear my scars just like tattoos, because I'm so damn proud of what they put me through." -Citizen Soldier
Citizen Soldier - "Tattoos": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN7bq6GU6SA
